Burundi’s President Goes Abroad For 1st Time Since Coup Plot

An official says Burundi’s president is traveling out of the country for the first time since the failed coup attempt of May 2015.

Presidential spokesman Jean Claude Karerwa Ndenzako said Thursday that President Pierre Nkurunziza is visiting neighboring Tanzania. The East African country is home to tens of thousands of Burundian refugees who have fled deadly political violence.

In May 2015, Nkurunziza’s allies in the armed forces put down a coup attempt mounted while the president was attending a summit in Tanzania.

The attempt followed weeks of street protests against Nkurunziza’s ultimately successful attempt to win a disputed third term.

The presidency says Nkurunziza is currently in Tanzania to reinforce cooperation between the two countries.